List of military and civilian missions of the European Union

The European Union (EU) has undertaken a number of overseas missions and operations, drawing on civilian and military capabilities, in several countries across three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia), as part of its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The operation or mission in question will work in agreement and coordination with the EU delegations, until 2009 known as the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).[1][2]

Since 2002, the European Union has intervened abroad thirty times in three different continents.

Classification

In the EU terminology, civilian CSDP interventions are called ‘missions’, regardless of whether they have an executive mandate such as EULEX Kosovo or a non-executive mandate (all others). Military interventions, however, can either have an executive mandate such as for example Operation Atalanta in which case they are referred to as ‘operations’ and are commanded at two-star level; or non-executive mandate (e.g. EUTM Somalia) in which case they are called ‘missions’ and are commanded at one-star level.

Prefixes

All CSDP missions and operations are given a prefix depending on the nature of the mission, which is either military or civilian.

The operations are named as if the multinational force conducting it is established specifically for the unique operation, which is often the case. The force may however also consist of permanent multinational forces such as the European Corps.

Procedure

The decision to deploy - together with any subsequent management of - the mission or operation in question, will ultimately be taken by the EU member states in the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC).

Location of alternative OHQs for EU military operations (EU headquarters, NATO headquarters and national parent headquarters are shown with red, blue and yellow marks, respectively)

For each military mission, also referred to as operation, the Council nominates the operational headquarters (OHQ) that will run the operation at strategic level and direct the subordinate force headquarters (FHQ), which carries out the operation on the ground. There are three main options for OHQ:[4]

An additional theoretical option for military operations is to activate a European Union Operations Centre (EU OPCEN), a non-standing, ad-hoc headquarters.[11] The OPCEN was active between 2012 and 2016, and its structures will be integrated into the MPCC in 2020.[12] Prior to the creation of the MPCC, the Local Mission Headquarters were be established in the country in which training missions (EUTM) took place.

Notes

^A regional training mission aiming to strengthen the maritime capacities of eight countries in the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.[14][15] Since 2003, NATO has also operated its own counter-piracy mission off of the Horn of Africa as well.[16]

^A mission for security sector reform in Guinea-Bissau with an initial mandate until 31 May 2009. Ended due to concerns over cooperation by Guinea-Bissau.[19]

^This mission was launched on 16 July 2004 for a duration of 12 months, and was designed to support the Georgian authorities in challenges to the criminal justice system and reform process.

^The European Union mission is to provide advice and assistance for security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[20] Among EUSEC DR Congo's projects was the 'Modernisation de l’Administration des Forces Armées de la RDC' (Modernisation of the Administration of the FARDC) underway in December 2008, under which, amongst other projects, information technology training was being delivered.[21] It appears that in December 2009, Secretary-General/High RepresentativeJavier Solana issued a formal invitation for the United States government to offer a contribution to EUSEC RD Congo.[22] EUSEC DR Congo was initially planned in 2005-06 to include eight EU advisors assigned to posts in the DRC's integrated military structure (Structure Militaire d'Integration (?)), the army general staff, the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (CONADER?), the Joint Operational Committee, and the Ministry of Defence.[23] From 2007 to 2011 EUSEC personnel grew from 8 to 46, with about 30 locally employed staff. 34 locally employed staff were listed in 2011. In 2008 with 46 staff 26 were in Kinshasa and 20 in the eastern DRC. Two personnel have died due to illness.[24]

^In October 2003, the Democratic Republic of Congo requested the EU for assistance in setting up an Integrated Police Unit. EUPOL Kinshasa monitored, mentored and advised the IPU once trained and operational under a Congolese chain of command, until the national elections in DRC held in 2005. The mission finished on 30 June 2007.[25]

^Established as a successor to EUPOL Kinshasa with an initial mandate until 30 June 2008.

^This operation was launched on 15 December 2003 and covered an initial period of one year.

^Launched on 15 December 2005 as a follow-on mission to EUPOL Proxima. The EU monitors and mentors the country's police on priority issues in the field of border police, public peace and order and accountability, the fight against corruption and organised crime. It finished its mandate in May 2006.[25]

^European Union support for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), the mission of the African Union in Darfur. NATO likewise provided support to AMIS from 2005 to 2007[16] Both EU and NATO missions ended with the handover to UNAMID on 31 December 2007. It included provision of airlift for 2,000 personnel, financial aid totalling more than EUR 500 million, the deployment of 15 military experts, 30 police officers, two military observers with AMIS, plus several military advisors sent to Addis Ababa to support the EU Special Representative.[26]

The Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) is the directorate of the External Action Service (EEAS) of the European Union (EU) that serves as operational headquarters (OHQ) for the civilian missions of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

Through the Joint Support Coordination Cell (JSCC), the CPCC cooperates with its military counterpart, the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC).

This articles outlines the defence forces of the European Union (EU), which implement the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in CSDP missions. There are two categories of EU multinational forces: ones that have been established intergovernmentally and made available to the CSDP through article 42.3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), such as the Eurocorps; and the EU Battlegroups, established at the EU level.

This article outlines the history of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union (EU), a part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

The post-war period saw several short-lived or ill-fated initiatives for European defence integration intended to protect against potential Soviet or German aggression: The Western Union and the proposed European Defence Community were respectively cannibalised by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and rejected by the French Parliament. The largely dormant Western European Union (WEU) succeeded the Western Union's remainder in 1954. In 1970 the European Political Cooperation (EPC) brought about the European Communities' initial foreign policy coordination, which in turn was replaced by the newly founded EU's CFSP pillar in 1993. The WEU was reactivated in 1984 and given new tasks, and in 1996 NATO agreed to let it develop a European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI). The 1998 St. Malo declaration signalled that the traditionally hesitant United Kingdom was prepared to provide the EU with autonomous defence structures. This facilitated the transformation of the ESDI into the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in 1999, when it was transferred to the EU. In 2003 the EU deployed its first CSDP missions, and adopted the European Security Strategy identifying common threats and objectives. In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon introduced the present name, CSDP, while establishing the EEAS, the mutual defence clause and enabling a subset of member states to pursue defence integration within PESCO. In 2011 the WEU, whose tasks had been transferred to the EU, was dissolved. In 2016 a new security strategy was introduced, which along with the Russian annexation of Crimea, the scheduled British withdrawal from the EU and the election of Trump as US President have given the CSDP a new impetus.

Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the European Union (EU). The operational headquarters is currently located at the Multinational Headquarters (MNHQ) at Northwood Headquarters in the United Kingdom, but will move to Naval Station Rota (NAVSTA Rota) in Spain as a result of the impending British withdrawal from the EU.The mission launched in December 2008 with a focus on protecting Somalia-bound vessels and shipments belonging to the WFP and AMISOM, as well as select other vulnerable shipments. In addition, Operation Atalanta monitors fishing activity on the regional seaboard. In 2012, the scope of the mission expanded to include Somali coastal territories and internal waters so as to co-ordinate counter-piracy operations with Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and regional administrations. On 16 July 2012, the EU also mandated the EUCAP Nestor mission to build up the maritime capacity of regional navies.It is part of a larger global action by the EU to prevent and combat acts of piracy in the Indian Ocean, and it is the first EU naval operation to be launched. It cooperates with the multinational Combined Task Force 151 of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and NATO's anti-piracy Operation Ocean Shield.

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